Overton Primary School and Nursery Class
Greenock
Inverclyde Council

22 April 2008

Contents

1. Background
2. Key strengths
3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?
4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?
5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?
6. How good is the environment for learning?
7. Leading and improving the school
Appendix 1 Indicators of quality
Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses
Appendix 3 Good Practice
How can you contact us?

1. Background

Overton Primary School and Nursery Class were inspected in January 2008 as part of a national sample of primary and nursery education. The inspection covered key aspects of the work of the school at all stages. It evaluated nursery children’s and pupils’ achievements, the effectiveness of the school, the environment for learning, the school’s processes for self-evaluation and innovation, and its capacity for improvement. There was a particular focus on attainment in English language and mathematics.

HM Inspectors examined the quality of the children’s experience in the nursery, pupils’ work and interviewed groups of pupils, including the pupil council, and staff. Members of the inspection team also met the chairperson of the Parent Council, representatives of the parent-teacher association (PTA) and a group of parents¹.

The inspection team also evaluated aspects of the school’s progress in implementing national recommendations related to improving aspects of school meals provision.

The school serves the Overton area of the town of Greenock. At the time of the inspection the roll was 214, including 40 children in the nursery class. The proportion of pupils who were entitled to free school meals was above the national average. Pupils’ attendance was in line with the national average.

2. Key strengths

3. What are the views of parents, pupils and staff?

HM Inspectors analysed responses to questionnaires issued to a sample of parents, P4 to P7 pupils, and to all staff. Information about the responses to the questionnaires appears in Appendix 2.

Parents expressed very high levels of satisfaction with the work of the school and the nursery and felt that they had a very good reputation in the community. They thought their children enjoyed being at school and teachers set high standards for pupils’ achievement. Parents also felt their children enjoyed being in the nursery and found the activities stimulating and challenging. Pupils enjoyed being at school and felt safe and secure. They thought teachers expected them to work as hard as they could. They liked the fact that they had a wide range of ways to be involved in extra activities, including opportunities to make decisions. All staff, including staff in the nursery, enjoyed working in the school and were proud to be associated with it. All believed that the school communicated clearly to parents the standards of work expected from pupils and that pupils were enthusiastic about learning. All thought that the school was well led.

4. How good are learning, teaching and achievement?

Pupils’ learning experiences and achievements

The quality of the curriculum was very good. Nursery staff provided a broad and balanced curriculum, which was stimulating and responsive to children’s interests. Children made very good use of the well-organised activity areas which offered appropriate levels of challenge for all. In the primary classes, teachers provided challenging and enjoyable programmes of study for pupils, carefully designed to promote progression in pupils’ learning. They made very good use of local opportunities to make learning relevant and to help pupils make links between different aspects of learning. Pupils benefited from two hours of physical education (PE) per week. A well-managed innovation was the delegation of responsibility for use of flexible time within the curriculum to individual teachers. This allowed them to match learning activities more closely to pupils’ interests and needs. Innovative approaches to talking and listening provided rich opportunities for pupils to talk about their learning. The school had achieved Health Promoting School status and pupils participated in an annual health week. The quality of teaching was very good. Staff used consistent teaching approaches across the nursery and primary stages. They ensured that learning intentions were shared and encouraged pupils to review what they had learned. Pupils could confidently say what they had learned and what they required to do to improve. Staff used questioning very effectively to extend pupils’ learning. They used praise very clearly so that learners knew what they had done well. Homework was well planned, stimulating and carefully reviewed. Personal projects were a positive feature of home learning.

The overall quality of learners’ experiences was excellent. Children in the nursery were highly motivated and sustained concentration on their chosen learning activities. They had grown and harvested vegetables, and cared for wildlife. They spontaneously expressed their ideas through paint, and made their own music. All children took part in energetic physical activity and showed high levels of confidence when using equipment. Pupils were well motivated and very keen to learn. There was a lively pace to learning. Discussions about learning featured in all lessons. By P7, pupils had a very good awareness of how they learned best. Pupils across the school responded well to opportunities for creative and imaginative learning, for example, when improvising dialogue for musical sketches or acting using props. Pupils’ high quality artwork was a strong feature at all stages. Their drawings and paintings reflected important local events such as the recent visit to Greenock of the QE2. Pupils were confident users of a modern foreign language and could conduct short conversations with fluency and expression.

Staff very successfully encouraged all learners to achieve in a wide range of activities. The school’s success in involving pupils in talking about learning gave them the confidence to tackle new experiences. Pupils at all stages were making very significant contributions to the life of the school. The Pupil Council, Eco Committee and Fit for Life group actively promoted sustainable development, healthy eating and physical exercise. The school had achieved an Eco School (Scotland) Bronze Award. Pupils had suggested various ways in which funds could be raised for charity. Pupils also ran the school’s healthy tuck shop as an enterprise activity and published a regular school newspaper. At all stages, they took part in a variety of sporting and cultural activities including football, netball, and choral singing. Pupils had enjoyed success in music festivals and in public speaking competitions. A number had been selected to play key roles in a forthcoming local enterprise event. Nursery children were confident and used their initiative, for example, in creating a very purposeful area for role-play. They cooperated very well with each other and were becoming increasingly aware of the needs and feelings of each other. Children were independent, able to share and take turns throughout their play.

English language

The overall quality of attainment in English language was very good. Children in the nursery were making very good progress in communication and language. They listened attentively and spoke with confidence making effective use of descriptive language in their play. They enjoyed books and stories. Most older children confidently wrote their name and were motivated to extend their own writing skills as part of their play. Most pupils were achieving appropriate national levels in reading and writing. The school had maintained these levels of attainment in recent years. A significant number of pupils achieved these levels earlier than might normally be expected. Pupils’ outstanding listening and talking skills were having a positive impact on achievements in writing and, especially, reading. Pupils with additional support needs were making very good progress. Across the school, pupils listened very attentively to their teachers and to each other. They responded very well to questions from their classmates and teachers. Their skills in class and group discussion were highly developed. Pupils in P1 and P2 were making a good start to learning to read with understanding. At all stages, pupils could talk knowledgably about texts they had read and could describe key characters and events. From P4 to P7, pupils’ imaginative writing regularly featured highly effective description of characters’ feelings as well as actions. Pupils in these classes wrote at good length for a wide range of purposes. Their knowledge of spelling and grammar was sound and standards of presentation high.

Mathematics

The overall quality of attainment in mathematics was very good. Children in the nursery were making very good progress in early mathematics. They were able to sort and match, and had created a graph of their birthday months. They used number confidently in their play. Across the primary classes, while there were some fluctuations in attainment year on year, the overall trend was upwards. Pupils’ attainment exceeded national expectations. Almost all were attaining appropriate national levels and most at P3 had attained such standards earlier than might normally have been expected. The school was actively working to ensure that such gains were maintained. Pupils with additional support needs were making good progress. Pupils achieved highly when engaged in practical mathematical activities. They had conducted surveys, gathered and recorded information and displayed it in graphs. They were skilled when interpreting graphs and pie charts. Most pupils showed a good understanding of number. At P3, they could perform transactions involving money, including giving change. By P7, they could complete mental calculations confidently and were accurate when performing written calculations. They had a very good knowledge of two- and three-dimensional shapes and of angles. Pupils at P6 enjoyed locating places of interest in the local area using the points of the compass. Pupils could solve problems and were able to discuss a range of strategies that could be used. They were able to apply their mathematical skills in a variety of practical, meaningful contexts.

5. How well are pupils’ learning needs met?

Overall, learning needs were very well met. In the nursery, staff knew children very well and had effectively identified their learning needs. They closely observed children at play and used this information well to plan next steps in learning for each child. Children who required additional assistance in their learning were very well supported. Appropriate individualised plans had been prepared in consultation with parents and relevant support agencies. Staff made effective use of assessment information to ensure children made appropriate progress. Across the primary classes, pupils were well matched to tasks and activities which provided them with appropriate challenge. Staff and senior managers worked effectively together to monitor pupils’ progress and identify those who required additional support with their learning or behaviour, including higher-attaining pupils. Teachers involved pupils and parents well in developing and implementing individualised educational programmes (IEPs) which helped ensure their learning needs were well met. Pupils were making good progress towards meeting the well-framed, appropriate learning targets set out in IEPs. Throughout the school, staff monitored pupils closely to ensure that they were making good progress. Pupils benefited from the high-quality support provided by classroom assistants and others working with teachers in classes. The experienced support for learning teacher played an important role in supporting teachers, working directly with pupils experiencing difficulties and liaising with parents. The school was very successful in securing additional professional support from a wide range of council services and partner agencies. Pupils throughout the school with English as an additional language were making very good progress. They were well supported and arrangements encouraged them to maintain their mother tongue while supporting learning in English.

6. How good is the environment for learning?

7. Leading and improving the school

Appendix 1 provides HM Inspectors’ overall evaluation of the work of the school.

Overton Primary School and Nursery Class provided a very caring, and highly stimulating environment for learning within which children and pupils thrived. The overall quality of teaching and of pupils’ learning experience was very good and there were many examples of outstanding practice. All pupils, including able pupils, were being appropriately challenged. Pupils with additional support needs were very well supported. The school made very effective use of its links with other schools, community organisations and partners to promote pupils’ learning and enable them to achieve their potential. The involvement of parents was a notable strength. Pupils were highly enthusiastic learners, with strong, positive, attitudes about themselves and others. They were increasingly able to reflect on their own learning and identify how best to make the progress they sought. All staff were highly committed to the pupils and to continuously striving to improve provision for all. Significantly, they saw themselves as learners within a learning community.

The headteacher provided excellent leadership. In her own professional behaviour she modelled best practice for staff. She had brought the whole school community together in a shared vision for the school. She had led the transformation of that vision, and its underpinning values, into the reality of the school’s present very high level of provision. Key to this achievement was the commitment of staff, the support of parents and the active engagement of pupils as learners. All staff in the school accepted responsibility for taking forward aspects of the school’s provision and responded enthusiastically to such opportunities. Approaches to self-evaluation represented a model of best practice and engaged all staff. The headteacher combined a wide range of well-established procedures, including formal and informal monitoring of learning and teaching, with innovative ideas such as ‘the learning walk’. The school knew itself very well, was constantly learning and looking to improve.

Nursery staff were fully aware of the implications of The Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice and registration with the organisation was underway.

At the last Care Commission inspection of the nursery class there were no recommendations and no requirements.

What happens next?

As a result of the high performance, the strong record of improvement and the very effective leadership of this school, HM Inspectors will make no further reports in connection with this inspection. The school and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to share that plan with parents. Within two years of the publication of this report the education authority, working with the school, will provide a progress report to parents.

Alistair Kirkwood
HM Inspector

22 April 2008

Appendix 1 Indicators of quality

The sections in the table below follow the order in this report. You can find the main comments made about each of the quality indicators in those sections. However, aspects of some quality indicators are relevant to other sections of the report and may also be mentioned in those other sections.

This report uses the following word scale to make clear judgements made by inspectors:

Appendix 2 Summary of questionnaire responses

Important features of responses from the various groups which received questionnaires are listed below.

Appendix 3 Good practice

In the course of the inspection, the following aspects of innovative and effective practice were evaluated as being worthy of wider dissemination.

Transitions-Early Stages

In line with the school’s strong commitment to the care and welfare of children and to continuity and progression in learning, the school provided:

• regular informal contacts between staff complemented by a specific Early Years Team comprising nursery and P1-3 teachers;
• a week-long programme of sessions comprising stimulating activities for nursery children, alongside P1 pupils; and
• a series of meetings and workshops for parents involving the headteacher, staff and partner bodies.

A notable feature was the involvement of P1 pupils who spoke about how they learned in mathematics and language. Subsequent parental surveys indicated that they valued very highly these experiences.

Talking Round Corners

The education authority had encouraged the school to investigate and develop its own approaches to learning and teaching, with particular focus on the skills of effective talking and listening. Building on the work of schools in other parts of the United Kingdom the school had developed staff skills in ‘dialogic teaching’. External evaluation of this work identified evidence of well-developed abilities in learners’ critical thinking, and teachers and young people addressing learning tasks together. This was confirmed during the inspection process. Pupils’ expectations had been raised, and their knowledge of how to learn effectively significantly developed. The benefits to staff showed in the quality of teaching and learning and the extent to which the school was succeeding in meeting the needs of all learners.

Challenge

A previous school review by the education authority had identified the issue of challenge and differentiation in order to better meet pupils’ needs in areas outwith English language and mathematics, and with a particular focus on higher-attaining pupils. Following visits to explore good practice in other schools staff identified and implemented a number of new approaches.

• Challenging ‘higher order’ questions are now the norm, directing harder questions to higher-attaining pupils.
• Developing pupils’ own ability to frame such questions.
• Supporting the learners in such challenging activities.
• Promoting pupils’ personal and inter-personal skills to see and understand each other’s viewpoint.

How can you contact us?

If you would like an additional copy of this report

Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher and school staff, the Corporate Director: Education and Social Care, local councillors and appropriate Members of the Scottish Parliament. Subject to availability, further copies may be obtained free of charge from HM Inspectorate of Education, Europa Building, 450 Argyle Street, Glasgow G2 8LG or by telephoning 0141 242 0100. Copies are also available on our website www.hmie.gov.uk.

HMIE Feedback and Complaints Procedure

Should you wish to comment on any aspect of primary inspections, you should write in the first instance to Chris McIlroy, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA.

If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to our Complaints Manager, HMIE Business Management and Communications Team, Second Floor, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. You can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our complaints procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506 600200 or from our website at www.hmie.gov.uk.

If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You should write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330 fax 0800 377 7331 or e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk.

Crown Copyright 2008

HM Inspectorate of Education

This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.

Footnotes

1. Throughout this report, the term ‘parents’ should be taken to include foster carers, residential care staff and carers who are relatives or friends.